Tear trough dermal fillers: everything you need to know

Dr. Gavin Chan has a background in intensive care, anaesthesia, and emergency medicine. Since 2004, Dr. Chan has provided cosmetic procedures, including anti-wrinkle injections, dermal fillers, liposuction, fat transfer, skin needling, and laser treatments. He is a doctor trainer for various dermal fillers and anti-wrinkle injections.Read More

Are the hollows and bags under your eyes making you look tired and old? The area under your eyes (called ‘tear trough’) can be effectively improved using dermal filler treatment.

Dr Gavin Chan (MBBS, Cosmetic Physician, Liposuctionist) treated his patient Tina’s tear troughs a few years ago with dermal filler and wanted to improve her look by using a deeper injection technique. Having a smoother transition from her lower eyelid to her cheek is important to Tina who explained, “I feel embarrassed when my eyes look baggy and hollow. In my workplace it’s important that I appear to be healthy and energetic but my tear troughs may me look tired and worn out.”

Why do tear troughs develop?

Tear troughs create a hollow at the junction between your cheeks and lower eyelids. During the natural ageing process, the tear trough area can become hollow, sag and develop dark circles. As you get older the skull shape changes and the cheekbones become smaller.

When the orbital septum weakens you have less support around your eyes. As your lower eyelid skin hollows out the skin becomes thinner. Eye bags form when the fat in your mid-cheek falls away from the lower eyelid, which results in a bulging effect. Due to genetic reasons, some people can develop tear troughs in their early twenties.

To make the appearance of your tear troughs, eye bags and eye hollows less obvious, dermal filler treatment can be used to smooth the transition between your cheeks and lower eyelids and improve your appearance.

What is in dermal fillers and what is hyaluronidase?

Dermal fillers are composed of a molecule which is a fundamental component of your skin, nerve tissues and connective tissue. This molecule is essential for keeping your joints flexible and your skin soft. Up to one third of your body’s supply of this molecule gets broken down in the body everyday by the enzyme hyaluronidase. Unlike your body’s natural molecule, dermal fillers have cross-linked chains. This increases the resilience to the dermal fillers being broken down.

Cosmetic Doctors and Cosmetic Nurses can reverse dermal fillers by injecting hyaluronidase into the area where the dermal filler needs to be dissolved. After hyaluronidase is injected into the skin it starts to work quickly to dissolve and metabolise the dermal fillers.

What happens during dermal filler tear trough correction?

Before treating Tina’s tear troughs with more dermal fillers, Dr Gavin Chan used hyaluronidase to dissolve the dermal fillers (3.00) that were still present. Using a different technique than previously, he wanted to achieve a more natural appearance by placing the filler deeper. He explained that placing the dermal filler a bit deeper avoids a puffy look occurring.

Instead of making multiple injections under the eye with a needle, Dr Gavin Chan and his team of Cosmetic Doctors and Cosmetic Nurses prefer to use a blunt tipped cannula. One entry point under each tear trough is made with a needle as an entry point for the blunt tipped cannula. Compared to multiple injections with a needle, this particular injection technique results in minimal bruising occurring.

After her dermal filler was dissolved and retreated, Tina saw a big, positive improvement within 24 hours. She noted that, “people have been telling me that I look really well, happy and alert. When someone asked me how old I was I jokingly reduced my age by 5 years and they believed me!”

Are there any risks or complications when treating tear troughs with dermal filler treatment?

The tear trough can be a difficult area in the face to treat with dermal fillers. Dr Gavin Chan noted that it is very common for patients to want perfectly smooth tear troughs straight after their treatment. He cautions that while this is possible, it’s important to note that dermal fillers hydrate and increase in size a few days after treatment. For pleasing results it’s important that the Cosmetic Doctor and Cosmetic Nurse knows how much dermal filler should be used and the depth of filler placement.

This highlights the importance of having dermal filler tear trough correction at a reputable medical clinic that has highly trained and experienced professional practitioners. Led by Dr Gavin Chan our team of Cosmetic Doctors and Cosmetic Nurses choose to under fill rather than overfill tear troughs. View our before and after gallery of tear trough patients here

Where to get the best tear trough dermal filler treatment in Melbourne

Are your tear troughs giving an impression that you’re tired, fatigued and dehydrated? Would you feel happier and more confident if you didn’t have under eye bags? Since 2005, led by Dr Gavin Chan our Cosmetic Doctors and Cosmetic Nurses have treated thousands of people’s tear troughs with dermal filler treatments. Find out how we can smooth away your tear troughs to give your eyes a fresher look by calling our friendly customer service team 1300 863 824 or fill in the form below

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